History NightmareFuel / TheDarkCrystal

[[caption-width-right:350:''"MINE!"'']]

** The Chamberlain's constant whimpers and FauxAffablyEvil demeanor make him pretty unsettling, especially when he interacts with Jen and Kira to lure them to their doom at the castle.

** The Chamberlain's constant whimpers and FauxAffablyEvil demeanor make him pretty unsettling, especially when he interacts with Jen and Kira.

** The Chamberlain's constant whimpers and FauxAffablyEvil demeanor make him pretty unsettling, especially when he meets Jen and Kira.

** When in the castle, Jen falls into a pit. Then plenty of purple eyes start glowing in the dark... he's ''completely surrounded'' by a horde of Garthim who ZergRush him. Fortunately, they hit the walls and create a hole large enough for him to escape... right into the deep shaft beneath the Crystal.

* The Garthim, essentially a monstrous mix between beetles and horseshoe crabs with claws. They not only move in a profoundly unsettling way but also have a [[Film/{{Psycho}} Psycho-esque]] scare chord when they attack. Jen, Kira and the Podlings are completely powerless against them and running away from them is the only option.

* The Garthim, essentially a monstrous mix between beetles and horseshoe crabs with claws. They not only move in a profoundly unsettling way but also have a [[Film/{{Psycho}} Psycho-esque]] scare chord when they attack. Jen, Kira and the Podlings are completely powerless against them and running away from them is the only option. Seeing them near Podling children is pure AdultFear.

** The Chamberlain's FauxAffablyEvil demeanor is pretty unsettling, especially when he meets Jen and Kira.

** The first Emperor is seconds away from dying, and the Chamberlain tries to grab his scepter. The Emperor [[JumpScare suddenly]], and aggressively, wakes up and uses the last of his forces to hold onto the scepter, then passes away and crumbles like a dry and rotten piece of wood.

* The Garthim, essentially a monstrous mix between beetles and horseshoe crabs with claws. They not only move in a profoundly unsettling way but also have a [[Film/{{Psycho}} Psycho-esque]] scare chord when they attack. Jen, Kira and the Podlings are completely powerless against them and running away from them is the only option.

* Fizzgig's JumpScare is pretty damned effective.

** The General/second Emperor might be [[EvilIsHammy hammy]], but he makes for one ruthless and scary BigBad.

* The scene in which the Skeksis drain the Podlings of their essence, what's even worse is you get to watch the poor Podling's RapidAging and zombification during the ordeal.
** Not only that. That twisted magic of the Crystal used to work much better with Gelfling essence, as shown when the second Emperor's reversed aging doesn't last more than a few seconds with Podling essence. The Skeksis probably did this to ''hundreds'' of Gelflings when they didn't have them outright killed.

* The scene in which the Skeksis drain the Podlings of their essence, what's even worse is you get to watch the poor Podling's RapidAging during the ordeal.

The film is the brainchild of Creator/JimHenson, but it's scary enough to not quite fit in the same breath as ''Series/TheMuppetShow'' and ''Series/SesameStreet''.

* The landstriders fight the Garthim outside the Castle to distract them from Kira and Jen's effort to rescue the Podlings captured from her village; the landstriders are able to hold their own against the Garthim at just two to six, with powerful kicks that topple the Garthim, but their high squeals as they fight become even more upsetting when the Garthim gain the upper hand, with a Garthim dragging one over the ledge into the empty (and deep) moat and the other Garthim toppling the other and closing in on it. Even worse when, according to canon, "when a landstrider fell in battle, its flesh was prized by the Skeksis, who considered it a great delicacy".

The film is the brainchild of Creator/JimHenson, but it's scary enough to not quite fit in the same breath as ''Series/TheMuppetShow'' nor ''Series/SesameStreet''.

The film is the brainchild of Creator/JimHenson, but it's neither ''Series/TheMuppetShow'' nor ''Series/SesameStreet''.

** The first Emperor is seconds away from dying, and the Chamberlain tries to grab his scepter. The Emperor [[JumpScare suddenly]], and aggressively, wakes up and uses the last of his forces to hold onto the scepter, then passes away and disintegrates, crumbling like a dry and rotten piece of wood.

** The first Emperor is seconds away from dying, and the Chamberlain tries to grab his scepter. The Emperor [[JumpScare suddenly]], and aggressively, wakes up and uses the last of his forces to hold on the scepter, then passes away and disintegrates, crumbling like a dry and rotten piece of wood.

** The General/second might be [[EvilIsHammy hammy]], but he makes for one ruthless and scary BigBad.

** The General/second might be [[EvilIsHammy hammy]], but he makes for one ruthless and scary EvilOverlord.

** The first Emperor is seconds away from dying, and the Chamberlain tries to grab his scepter. The Emperor aggressively uses the last of his forces to hold on the scepter (which causes a JumpScare), then passes away and disintegrates, crumbling like a dry and rotten piece of wood.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/skeksis_1.jpg]]

* The Garthim, essentially a monstrous mix between beetles and horseshoe crabs with claws. They not only move in a profoundly unsettling way but also have a [[Film/{{Psycho}} Psycho-esque]] scare chord when they attack. Jen, Kira and the Podlings are completely powerless against them and running away from them is the only solution.

* The Skeksis are pretty frightening. They are cruel and sadistic [[LizardFolk reptilian]], [[FeatheredFiend humanoids with vulture heads]] whose bodies are [[AgeWithoutYouth rotting as they age]]. They very much embody EvilMakesYouUgly.

* The Skeksis are pretty frightening. They are cruel and sadistic [[FeatheredFiend humanoids with vulture heads]] whose bodies are [[AgeWithoutYouth rotting as they age]]. They very much embody EvilMakesYouUgly.